Toolbar - Decimal Places - Minus

Decimal Places in LibreOffice Calc

arindam Leave a comment

This tutorial would explain how to show fewer decimal places in a Calc Cell.

Show Few Decimal Places

Any decimal number that contains multiple digits after the point can be entered in a Cell. However if the digits are huge, it is often wise to show only fewer digits for better visibility and understanding. For example, say a decimal number 4.175 is written in cell A1.

Before Reducing Decimal Places
Before Reducing Decimal Places

 

Now, click on the “Delete Decimal Place” button from the toolbar.

Toolbar - Decimal Places - Minus
Toolbar – Decimal Places – Minus

 

Each time you click the button, Calc would reduce one decimal places and show a round off view of the number.

After Reducing Decimal Places
After Reducing Decimal Places

Remember that, it is just the representation of the number that is changed, not the number itself. The internal number remains 4.175 but the representation is changed to 4.2.

If you want to perform any calculation on the decimal number while decimal view is reduced, Calc would consider the internal/actual decimal number with all decimal places i.e. 4.175 only.

Calculation when decimal is reduced
Calculation when decimal is reduced

To get back to the original number, click on the “Add Decimal Place” from the toolbar.

Toolbar - Decimal places - plus
Toolbar – Decimal places – plus
LibreOffice Calc - Data Validation

How to Add Numeric Data Validation in Calc Spreadsheet

arindam 2 Comments

This tutorial will explain the basics of numeric data validation in LibreOffice Calc worksheet.

Calc provides various ways of data validation in worksheet cells – numeric validation, range validation etc. When a worksheet is used to receive input data from users, data validation can be used to restrict user from invalid data input. Lets see how can it be done in Calc.

Validation

I have a worksheet where I want to restrict user to input any number from 1 to 10 only.

Select the input cell and click Data -> Validity

LibreOffice Calc - Data Validation in Menu

 

In the Validity window, choose Allow: Whole Numbers ; Data: valid range ; Minimum: 1 and Maximum:10.

Go to Input Help tab and enter the message you want to show to user when the cell is selected. The message would be shown as popup when the cell is selected by user.

LibreOffice Calc - Input Help

Go to next tab Error Alert and put the message which can be shown as popup error message to the user. You can opt it out by checking off the option – ‘Show error message when invalid values are entered’.

LibreOffice Calc - Input Help

Press OK once all the options are set. Now click the cell, you can see the popup message which set in Input Help tab:

LibreOffice Calc - Input Help on Display

Now, if you try to enter any value e.g. 20 which is invalid as per the Min and Max we have set in Criteria tab, the popup message box would be displayed:

LibreOffice Calc - Data Validation

This is the way you can input proper accepted values in Calc spreadsheet.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

Calendar Template - Imported

How to Download, Import and Use Templates in LibreOffice Calc

arindam 4 Comments

This tutorial will show how to use templates in LibreOffice Calc. I will show how to download a template, import it, use it and manage it in LibreOffice Calc.

Download Templates

Templates are a great way to extend the functionality of LibreOffice. Huge numbers of community developed free LibreOffice Calc templates available in extensions.libreoffice.org/templates/.

Download any Calc template you want and save it in your computer. For this tutorial, I have downloaded Calendar Creator template.

Download calendar-creator template

Template files are having .ots (ODF Spreadsheet Template) extension which is used by LibreOffice Calc spreadsheet applications.

Import Templates

To open the manage templates dialog, from the menu choose File -> Templates -> Manage. On the Template Manager Dialog, go to Spreadsheet Tab and click My Templates. 

Template Manager_Import

Using Import button, choose the template .ots file you have downloaded. Template manager will import the .ots file and you can see it under My Templates. Select the template and click open.

Open Template - LibreOffice Calc

 

Use Templates

It might take a moment to load the template, once loaded you can see the template in Calc workspace. Now you can save it as .ods files and your use.

Calendar Template - Imported

 

This is how you can download and use a Calc spreadsheet template in LibreOffice. Feel free to leave a comment or if you are looking for something else using comment box down below.

Next Chapter Data Validation

Style Find Using Find and Replace

How to Find A Paragraph Style in LibreOffice Writer Document

arindam 1 Comment

If you have a Writer document e.g. book draft containing various styles of text/paragraphs, it is sometimes needed to find where in the document a specific style present. In this tutorial, I will show you how to find a paragraph style in the LibreOffice Writer document.

Sample Document

I have a sample document, generated with dummy text as below. I have also changed the letter spacing of certain lines which I would like to find.

Sample Text for Style Search
Sample Text for Style Search

Create Style

Select the spacing lines and from the style toolbar, create New Style (Or, you can find it from the menu – Style -> New Style). In the Style creation dialog, give the style a name e.g. “Test-style-1”.

Select and Create Style
Select and Create Style

Open the Find and Replace dialog (keyboard CTRL+H) from menu: Edit -> Find and Replace. In this dialog, under ‘Other Options’, select the checkbox search for paragraph styles. In the Search For drop-down, select the style you want to find – ‘Test-style-1’. And hit Find Next.

Find and Replace Dialog
Find and Replace Dialog

Find

Once you click Find Next, Writer will start searching the entire document for the specific styles and highlight the same.

Style Find Using Find and Replace
Style Find Using Find and Replace

Now you can find any style you want in a LibreOffice Writer document using the above method. Feel free to leave a comment Or ask questions down below.

Dummy Text -LibreOffice Writer

Generate Random, Dummy Text in LibreOffice Writer

arindam 4 Comments

How can we generate a block of random text in LibreOffice Writer? In this tutorial, we will show you how.

It is often needed to generate a random block of text for various purposes e.g. checking fonts, paragraphs, and styles etc.

Though you can always use your own text for your needs. However, LibreOffice Writer provides a way to generate a block of random texts in a simple way.

Generate Random/Dummy Text in LibreOffice Writer

Follow the below steps:

  • Open a blank document in Writer.
  • Type this text: dt
dt
  • Then press function key F3. Once pressed, you can see below block of dummy text automatically displayed in writer. Now you can use this auto-generated text for your needs.
Dummy Text -LibreOffice Writer
Dummy Text -LibreOffice Writer

Tip: You can also create this using Menu: Tools -> AutoText; Standard -> Dummy Text.

So, this is how you can generate dummy text in Writer. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions down below.